


Alone Again (Naturally)

by thesynapticsnap



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Gay Keith (Voltron), Keith has an unrequited crush on Shiro, M/M, One-sided Sheith is present in the earlier chapters, Slow Burn, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-19
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-10-21 00:44:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10674162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesynapticsnap/pseuds/thesynapticsnap
Summary: In a world where people rely on auras to identify potential friends and lovers, Keith Kogane is considered a freak. He’s never been able to see another person’s aura, nor has anyone ever seen his. Of course he’d get stuck saving the universe with Lance McClain -- a romance-obsessed boy who has vowed to search the cosmos for the one whose golden aura marks them as his soulmate.[Follows the canon VLD story with significant tweaks to events and characters. Tags/rating will be updated as needed. This is primarily a slow burn Klance fic, but features several other pairings as well. Please see first chapter notes for full details.]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! This is the first VLD fic I've posted, so I hope you enjoy. Just a heads up about the pairings featured in this fic:
> 
> Endgame pairings are as follows: Keith/Lance (primary focus), Allura/Shiro (side focus), Hunk/Shay (minor focus) -- this is slow burn, so romance scenes will all be featured a little later on.
> 
> Earlier on we have a dash of one-sided Keith/Shiro (Keith has an unrequited crush) and FWB Hunk/Lance (occurs off-screen). Oh, and Lance flirts with pretty much everyone ;p
> 
> ~This fic is dedicated to my awesome roomie and beta reader, Katie. She gave me so many great ideas and I can't thank her enough.~

__ Keith kept his arms crossed and gaze fixed straight ahead. Whoever had entered the office hesitated in the doorway for a few seconds, generously offering him a second chance to rise and salute, before giving a resigned sigh and shutting the door behind them. 

The man who came to sit at the desk in front of him wore the orange and white uniform of a cadet. Keith immediately recognized him as Takashi ‘Shiro’ Shirogane, one of the senior cadet flight commanders. He’d seen him in person on a few scattered occasions, but never talked with the man.

Shiro was known as one of the top pilots in the history of the garrison’s flight program. He’d also proven himself an adept leader, and risen through the ranks of his class in record time. Why they’d sent such a high-ranking cadet to see him, Keith had no idea.  

“Hi, Keith. I don’t believe we’ve had a chance to speak before. I’m Shiro.”

He extended his hand over the desk, offering a handshake. The informality of his greeting took Keith off guard.

“I know you,” he said, not taking the offered hand. “Everyone knows you.”

Shiro slowly lowered his arm.

“You’ve made quite a name for yourself around here as well.”

Keith shrugged.

“I guess.”

Shiro brought out a folder and placed it before him, spreading the contents across the desk. Keith recognized one of the papers on top as his evaluation from the previous semester.

“Keith Kogane. Excellent marks across the board. Well…” Shiro lifted one of the papers, squinting at it. “Looks like you were marked down for refusing to follow haircut protocol. But otherwise, you’re one of the garrison’s up and coming stars. You even beat my record in the flight simulator last semester.”

Shiro smiled up at him.

“I didn’t beat the previous record until my third year. You managed to top my score the first week you were here.”

“Can we just get to the point of this meeting already?” Keith said sharply. 

Shiro’s smile faded, and he returned his attention to the folder. The next paper he withdrew was a letter bearing Keith’s messy handwriting.

“Your letter of resignation.”

He briefly scanned the content of the letter, frowning.

“You are within your rights to leave, of course” Shiro said. “You haven’t incurred a commitment to active service since you’re only a fourth-class. However, you’re going to have to provide a legitimate reason for resigning.”

“Isn’t ‘I don’t want to be here anymore’ enough of a reason?” Keith snapped. If he kept at it, he wouldn’t need to resign. His blatant insubordination was going to get him dismissed.

Yet Shiro still didn’t remark on his behavior, nor seem the least bit perturbed.

“It’s not when you’re one of our top cadets,” Shiro said calmly.

“Ugh, because they’re not going to let me be a pilot, ok? Even though I meet all the requirements they still disqualified me! All because of this stupid --” he gestured to himself. “This stupid aura stuff.”

Keith was probably the only person in the world that didn’t emit an aura. Additionally, he suffered from ‘aura blindness’, another uncommon but not unheard of condition that prevented him from seeing the auras of others. It made him an outcast in a society which relied upon auras to identify friends, enemies, and lovers.

Had he been a normal person, he would be able to see the colored glow around each person he met and know right away if they were someone worth approaching. Those whom he might connect with romantically would emit a red aura, potential friends blue, and enemies black. Family members typically saw orange auras around one another unless they had particularly turbulent relationships. Stronger relationships among any type resulted in more intense auras.

Auras almost always matched for people, which prevented a lot of heartache. Sometimes people chose to ignore auras if they were particularly stubborn (often in the case of “friendzoned” guys), but generally people respected the boundaries they represented.

Keith had come to accept that his lack of an aura meant he would always be alone, and had worked his ass off to reach his goals without anyone’s support. For a brief moment, he’d thought he’d made it. Being accepted into the garrison and getting the chance to become a pilot brought him so close to achieving his dreams. Then, it had all been snatched away in an instant.

“They never said anything about aura perception being part of the vision requirements,” Keith said. “I have perfect vision otherwise! There’s no reason being aura blind should exclude me!”

Shiro took out a few more papers and slid them across the table to Keith, who snatched them out of his hand.

“Those are the results of the MRI you were given last week,” Shiro clarified. “See the areas the doctor circled?”

Keith studied the scans of his brain. When he’d contested his initial disqualification last week, leadership had agreed to reconsider his application if he underwent another medical evaluation, including an MRI. His brain looked normal enough to him, though the doctor had circled a few areas toward the back in red and scribbled illegible notes in the margins.

“What is this supposed to mean to me?” Keith said, annoyed.

“The areas marked are all located in the part of your brain responsible for vision. They found a few irregularities, although the doctor couldn’t identify any specific issues tied to them.”

“So why did he still disqualify me?”

“The doctor cleared you for flight, actually. Leadership disqualified you because they’re unable to read your aura.”

Keith swore, tossing the scans aside.

“Fuck this. I did everything right. I did everything I was supposed to and it doesn’t mean anything.”

“Keith,” Shiro said, his voice still as calm and level as it been when they began. “This isn’t over yet.”

“Yes it is. They’ve made up their minds, and I’ve made up mine. I’m leaving."

Keith made to stand up, but Shiro reached across the desk and grabbed his arm to keep him in place. He barely restrained the urge to strike him.

“I’ve submitted an appeal on your behalf,” Shiro said. “I’m not letting someone with so much potential leave due to an unfair bias.”

Some of Keith’s anger ebbed, replaced by shock. Shiro released him and leaned back in his chair, waiting for him to reply.

“Leadership has never dealt with anyone they can’t read before,” said Shiro when Keith didn’t respond. “It’s easy to identify potential spies or saboteurs by reading someone’s aura. With you, they’re taking a risk. There’s no telling where you stand.”

“I’m not a damn spy!”

“I don’t think that you are. I wouldn’t have advocated for you if I believed that, Keith.”

Keith slumped back in his seat. He had no idea how to respond. It was the first time anyone had ever stood up for him, and he barely knew Shiro.

“You don’t even know me,” Keith muttered.

“I’ve been observing you for a few months. I can tell you have a good heart, even though you try not to let it show. Anyone with sense can tell that about you.”

“Then I guess no one else here has any sense.”

“Unfortunately most people will always misunderstand you, Keith, but that doesn’t mean everyone will. I hope I’m proof of that.”

Keith looked down at his lap, still uncertain how to reply.

“Thank you,” he said eventually.

“I only ask one thing from you in return. Once you’ve been accepted into the pilot program, I get to be your mentor for the next year.”

_ ‘Once you’ve been accepted’, not ‘if’.  _ Shiro seemed overly confident in his ability to sway leadership.

“Sure. I guess,” Keith said, somewhat half-heartedly. He wasn’t nearly as optimistic about his chances.

“Great. So we won’t be needing this anymore.”

Shiro took Keith’s resignation letter and tore it into a pile of little pieces.


	2. Chapter 2

“Oh my god. Hunk, there are literally no girls in the entire garrison that I can date.”

Lance set his laptop down before laying back against the floor. He threw an arm over his eyes and groaned, waiting for his melodrama to attract the attention of his roommate. When he received no response after a few minutes, he lifted his arm and looked to where Hunk was sitting on his bed.

“Hunk! Are you paying attention to me? I’m kinda dying of heartbreak over here.”

“Huh? Sorry dude,” Hunk said, not looking up from the pile of papers scattered in front of him. “I’ve got a physics test in the morning that counts for like, a third of my grade.”

Lance sat up and cradled his knees to his chest, pouting.

“Is that really more important than comforting your bestest buddy who is never going to find love?”

Hunk sighed and set down the paper in his hand before finally gazing toward Lance.

“Ok dude, shoot.”

“I was browsing the photos in the student directory again,” Lance said, earning a critical grimace from Hunk. “Not a single girl had a red aura.”

Technology made it possible for people to see the auras of others in online photos, which was both a blessing and a curse. Although the internet made it easier for people to locate their soulmate and potential friends, many became obsessed with finding said companions and wasted hours each day scouring dating sites and social media. Lance had spent so much time browsing the internet the previous semester that his grades had suffered for it, and he’d just been taken off academic probation.

“Dude, you know you shouldn’t be doing that,” Hunk chastised.

“I know, I know! I’ve only been browsing for like an hour. Anyways, what the heck am I gonna do?”

“I dunno, maybe actually do your homework for once?”

“Hunk!” Lance whined. “I don’t want to die alone.”

“I mean, have you thought about maybe browsing the guys’ photos?” Hunk said, realizing Lance wasn’t going to let it go until he humored him.

“Hunk, seriously. I’m not into guys like that.”

“Dude, come on. You’ve sucked my dick at least a dozen times.”

“T-that’s just a bro helping out another bro!” Lance declared, his face flushing red. “I mean ok, so maybe I’m not like, 100 percent straight, but I just can’t imagine my soulmate being a guy.”

Hunk was the first and only guy he’d ever fooled around with, and even his aura was blue. A deep, dark blue, but blue nonetheless. Lance still wondered if he was actually bi or had just made an exception for Hunk, because who wouldn’t make an exception for such an awesome guy?

“Then I dunno man,” said Hunk, returning his attention to his papers. “Maybe just browse the guys for shits and giggles.”

Lance retrieved his laptop and navigated to the male section of the student directory. The webpage displayed students in order of their class, rank, and academic standing. Near the top of the fourth-class cadets was a boy named Keith Kogane.

“What the fuck?” Lance said, squinting at the photo on the screen. “Dude, Hunk, check this out.”

Lance sat on the edge of Hunk’s bed and pushed the laptop into his hands, much to Hunk’s displeasure.

“What am I looking at, man?”

“That,” Lance said, pointing to the photo of Keith Kogane.

Hunk’s eyes narrowed and he leaned in closer to the screen.

“Wha...he doesn’t have an aura.”

“Think it’s a glitch or something?” Lance asked.

“I...I dunno. All the other photos look normal.”

“That’s fucked up.”

There was a such thing as being ‘aura blind’, which meant one couldn’t see the auras of others, but Lance had never heard of someone who didn’t emit an aura.

“Wait, this guy applied to the pilot program,” said Hunk, pointing to the text below Keith’s photo that indicated his area of study. “You might have a class with him.”

“Great, I get to meet the weirdo.”

“Holy crap, this guy has the top score in the flight simulator too. That means he beat Shiro’s record!”

“Wait, what?”

Lance grabbed the laptop from Hunk’s hands and squinted at the screen. Keith’s simulator score was indicated below his rank, and had a note that it was the highest of all time.

“No way, nuh uh,” Lance muttered, navigating to the first-class males to find Shiro’s photo.

Shiro was another guy that made Lance seriously question his sexuality. Not only was he an amazing pilot, he was also hot as hell. Lance was way too nervous to actually talk to the guy though, what with Shiro being a senior and all. That and the fact his aura was only the faintest shade of blue, meaning they wouldn’t even be close friends if they did meet. He preferred to just admire Shiro from afar and entertain fantasies of a more intimate relationship. 

“Yeah dude, look,” Hunk said, pointing to Shiro’s simulator score beneath his photo. “It’s number two now.”

“Who even is this Keith guy?” Lance said, going back to Keith’s photo. “He’s like, third in our class, dude. How have we never seen him?”

“Dunno. You think he’d stand out.”

Lance took his laptop to his own bed and continued to study the photo. Aside from his lack of aura, Keith looked pretty normal. His hair was longer than the garrison typically permitted males to keep it, but he supposed you could get away with that if you held the top flight simulator score in the history of forever.

Bitterness washed over him. Despite how much Lance wanted to be a pilot, he was pretty mediocre at it. Hunk told him he ought to be proud of even getting into the pilot program, even if he hadn’t made fighter class like he wanted. He’d placed at the top of cargo class, one class below fighter, but honestly being so close to his dream just made it worse. If he’d been dead last he wouldn’t still be clinging to the hope he could move up in rank. Not that fighter pilots ever washed out, but the tantalizing possibility of it was there.

“I wonder if he can see auras,” said Hunk from across the room.

“Who cares,” Lance muttered, shutting the laptop. “Not like he’s ever going to find his soulmate if they can’t see his.”

Five colors of auras existed: red for lovers, blue for friends, black for enemies, orange for family, and golden for soulmates. Many people lived and died without ever having seen a golden aura.

Lance was not going to be one of those people. Even more important to him than becoming a pilot was finding his one true love. He’d been a hopeless romantic since he was young, and was always on the lookout for his soulmate. He’d heard too many heartbreaking tales of people passing their soulmates on the train or in traffic and never even realizing how close they’d come to happiness.

“I feel sorry for the guy,” Hunk said after a few minutes. “I bet a lot of people don’t want to be friends with someone like that.”

“I don’t,” Lance snorted. “Who wants to waste time getting to know someone who might turn out to be your enemy?”

“I mean it’s not his fault, though. Plus there are loads of aura blind people who don’t know how their relationships are gonna turn out.”

“Yeah, but it’s not the same. Everybody else can still see their auras. This Keith dude is just...I don’t even know, man.”

“Maybe you should talk to him if he’s in your class,” Hunk suggested. “Get to know him before you decide he’s evil or whatever.”

“No way. I don’t want anything to do with that guy.” 

Lance shut his eyes, listening to the sound of Hunk quietly turning the pages of his physics textbook beside him. The image of Keith Kogane stayed in his mind long after he’d drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're enjoying so far! Let me know what you liked, what you didn't, and any questions you might have :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! I'm trying to make these chapters longer as the fic progresses, so hang in here~

Sometimes Keith couldn’t believe how much things had changed.

Six months ago, he’d been on the verge of dropping out and giving up on his dreams. Now he was well on his way to becoming the youngest fighter pilot in the garrison’s history. For once that wasn’t a title he would have to steal from Shiro (who’d focused on learning to pilot research vessels during his academic career).

Shiro had graduated earlier that day. He was the top of his class, of course, and had even received a special medal for completing a series of rigorous combat readiness courses in addition to his studies. Said medal was one of the hardest to earn, and none of the other graduates received one. Shiro claimed he’d completed the courses ‘just in case’, though Keith suspected he’d done it just to prove he could. Although Shiro always tried to seem modest, he definitely had a competitive side.

It was one of the many things Keith had come to discover about him in the time he’d known Shiro. Since that fateful day Shiro petitioned for his entry into the flight program, the older cadet had become his closest friend. Shiro always supported him and was there to talk when he needed, and Keith couldn’t imagine his life without him.

It was for this reason he was having trouble accepting that Shiro would soon be leaving for Kerberos. Though Shiro had first mentioned the mission several months ago, the reality of it hadn’t started to sink in until recently. Now that less than a week remained until he left, Keith was more anxious than ever.  

“I’ll still be able to talk with you over video conference every day,” Shiro reminded him after the graduation ceremony, as if that meant anything when he was being sent to the edge of the solar system. “I won’t be gone that long.”

Keith refused to meet his eye at first. He knew he should be happy for Shiro -- he’d wanted the assignment, after all -- but Keith didn’t want him to go. Yes, partly because when Shiro left he’d be alone again...but there was more to it than that.

“I just...I’m worried, ok?” Keith finally admitted, looking up at him with glassy eyes.

Shiro placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed.

“Don’t worry, I think I’ve learned how not to crash,” Shiro said, offering him a small smile.

“It’s not that. I just...I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

Shiro's smile faded. He was one of the few people that had ever taken Keith’s ‘hunches’ seriously.

“I don’t know what it is, but something’s not right. Please don’t go, Shiro. Please.”

Worry had been eating at him for days and it was only getting worse as Shiro’s departure date grew closer. He wanted to cling to Shiro and keep him there on the couch, grounding him to Earth forever if he had to.

“I’ve still got a few more days,” Shiro said, giving his shoulder one more squeeze before letting his hand fall to his side. “We’ll spend some more time together when you get out of your exams tomorrow.”

“No, I…” Keith realized it was hopeless. Shiro wasn’t going to reconsider. He probably didn’t even have the option of backing out at this point unless he wanted a stain on his future career.  “I...I know you wanted to visit with your mom before she left”

Shiro’s mother had flown in from Japan for Shiro’s graduation, and was currently staying in a nearby hotel. It wasn’t fair for Keith to keep her from seeing her son, no matter how much he wanted to spend time with him.

“I’ll get to spend some more time with her while you’re in exams,” Shiro said, his smile returning. “But I want to see you as well. I know we haven’t known one another that long, but you’re practically family to me too at this point.”

Keith smiled weakly in return. It was strange to be considered someone’s family when he could barely remember his own. Growing up an orphan hadn’t given him any clue as to how families actually worked. All he knew was that he wanted to protect Shiro.

“Come on, you’d better get back to the dorms before lights out,” Shiro said. “I’ll wrap up some cake for you to take with you.”

Shiro saw him off with a bit of food from the earlier ceremonies and well wishes for his exams in the morning. The ache in Keith’s heart still hadn’t gone away by the time he’d returned to his room and laid down to sleep.

 

* * *

 

Dammit. Of all the exams to be late to, it had to be Iverson’s, didn’t it?

Lance hurried down the hallway, trying to avoid anyone he’d be required to salute. He’d overslept and was going to be at least 10 minutes late to his written piloting exam even if he didn’t have to stop. The instructor giving the exam, Iverson, absolutely hated him. His aura was a deep, ugly shade of black that clearly indicated that.

Lance was prepared to be turned away from the exam as soon as he burst through the door to the classroom. He winced at the noise he made, which made everyone jerk their heads around and stare at him, but kept moving forward lest he lose his nerve.

“Sorry, sir,” he said shakily, his voice too loud in the quiet of the room. “I uh, got caught up this morning.”

“Take a seat, cadet,” Iverson growled from the front of the classroom. “I’m docking 10 points from your final for tardiness. You’d better hope you do better than you usually do if you still want to pass.”

A few people giggled, causing Lance to blush in embarrassment. His scores were almost always among the lowest in the class. Ten points really was a big deal for him.

Trying not to cry, he scanned the room for an empty seat. His heart sank when he saw that the only two seats that weren’t taken were on either side of Keith Kogane. He’d managed to avoid Keith all semester, and wasn’t keen on breaking his record.

_‘It’s only for an hour, I guess.’_

Iverson’s gaze followed him as he took a seat beside Keith.

“Sitting next to the top student in the class, huh?” said Iverson. “I’m watching you, McClain.”

Like he was actually stupid enough to try and cheat. He ignored Iverson’s taunting and tried to just focus on the paper in front of him. It was then that he realized he’d forgotten a pencil.

“Sir,” he said quietly. “May I um...borrow a pencil?”

“Not from me,” Iverson sneered. “Does anyone else want to lend this idiot a pencil?”

Lance flushed red again and had to bite his lip to stop himself from bursting into tears. No one in the room would want to earn Iverson’s ire by helping him, so he was screwed. He tried to compose himself so he could just get out of there before he humiliated himself further.

It was then he felt something tap his shoulder. He looked down to see Keith’s hand clutching a pencil.

“Here,” said Keith. He tapped him again, impatient.

Lance took the pencil, too surprised to thank him.

“Huh. Looks like today’s your lucky day,” Iverson muttered.

Keith completed his exam and left the room before Lance was even half-way through. Lance wondered if he should bother trying to track him down to return it. He doubted he’d ever have a class with Keith again, given the fact he’d probably just failed his first ever flight class. He decided he’d ask Hunk once he got back to their dorm.

Hunk seemed to anticipate that he’d be in a bad mood after the exam, as there was a pile of sweets from the cafeteria waiting for him on his bed when he returned.

“God I don’t deserve you, dude,” Lance said, giving Hunk a quick hug before settling down to enjoy his treats.

“So how’d it go?” Hunk asked. He was still pouring over one of his engineering textbooks, despite the fact he’d answered everything correctly when Lance quizzed him with flashcards the previous night.

“Iverson docked me 10 points for being late.”

“Hey, at least he let you take the final though. You thought he was gonna flunk you on the spot.”

“Yeah.” Lance munched on a blueberry muffin, trying not to mention how he’d nearly cried in front of the entire class. “I had to sit next to Keith.”

“Yeah?”

“He let me borrow a pencil because I forgot mine.” He lifted the pencil to show Hunk. “He left before I finished so I didn’t get a chance to give it back. Think I should track him down?”

“Probably a good idea. I think his room’s in the next building over if you want to start there.”

After scarfing down a few more pastries Lance made his way to the other dorms. He found Keith’s name outside of one of the first doors. He roomed alone, Lance noted, which was unusual for a fourth-class cadet. He supposed no one was willing to room with the aura-less weirdo.

Once he’d knocked on the door it didn’t take Keith long to answer. He looked confused to find a visitor outside his room.

“Hey. I came by to return this,” said Lance, showing him the pencil. “You left before I got a chance to give it back to you.”

“Oh, right,” Keith said, slowly raising his hand to accept it.

“Thanks, by the way. You really saved my ass in there.”

“It’s whatever.”

“No really dude. No one else was gonna help me out. I owe you one.”

He laughed nervously, wondering why he was still lingering outside the door. Keith was just staring at him like he was crazy.

“So uh, yeah, I’m Lance by the way.”

“Keith.”

“Yeah, I know who you are. Top pilot in the class and all, haha!”

Keith gave him a once over.

“You’re cargo class, right?”

Lance bristled immediately, feeling his desire to be even remotely friendly fly out the window.

“I’m number one in cargo class, actually.”

“Yeah, I think I’ve seen you around a couple of times.”

“Of course you’ve seen me around! We’ve had a class together the entire semester!”

Not that he’d made any effort to speak to Keith at all that semester. Truthfully, he’d tried to stay as far away from him as possible. Keith’s antisocial nature hadn’t exactly made it hard.

“Huh. Well anyways, I need to get going.”

Keith didn’t bother to wait for a reply before closing the door in his face. The gesture sent a jolt of annoyance straight to Lance’s gut and he was pounding on the door at once. He nearly punched Keith in the face when he jerked the door back open, but managed to pull his hand back at the last second.

“ _What?_ ” Keith said.

“Uh…” Lance hadn’t exactly had anything else to say. “Just...just wondering what your deal is, man.”

“My deal?”

“Yeah, like why the hell don’t you have an aura?”

Keith frowned at that and looked like he was going to shut the door in his face again. Lance was honestly surprised when he got an answer.

“I don’t know,” said Keith. “It’s just always been that way.”

“Oh. So...can you see auras, then?”

“No.”

“That must suck.”

“It’s not a big deal. I don’t need auras to know who I won’t get along with.”

“Yeah. I guess I don’t either in this case,” Lance said flatly, feeling immensely satisfied when he managed to turn his back on Keith before he slammed the door once more.

 

* * *

 

Keith was glad to find his visitor gone when he finally emerged from his room. He tried to forget about the boy as he headed out, though that turned out to be easier said than done. The boy -- Lance, was it? -- was the first person who’d spoken to him all semester outside of Shiro and his instructors.

He hadn’t wanted to be a total jerk to the guy. That was just apparently how he reacted to cute strangers showing up outside his door.

 _‘Don’t even go there,’_ he silently chastised himself. Cute or not, Lance had still turned out to be just like all the others. There was no point crushing on some asshole who thought he was a freak because of his lack of aura.

Hopefully the library would provide a sufficient distraction from his thoughts. He wanted to research Kerberos and the spacecraft Shiro would be piloting prior to his departure, hoping a bit more knowledge would put his mind at ease.

Unfortunately, he found someone else right in front of the section he needed when he got there. A girl, whose civilian clothing and youthful appearance were out of place at the garrison, stood gazing up at the topmost shelf where the Kerberos information was kept. Even standing on her tiptoes the shelf was out of her reach.

“Hey,” Keith said, causing the girl to whip around and stare at him. “Need me to get something down for you?”

Her eyes widened at the sight of him, scanning him several times over before she met his gaze. It was always the same when people first saw him.

“Oh uh, yeah,” said the girl. “That orange book up there. Climate of Kerberos.”

“I’m researching Kerberos too,” he told her, even though he doubted the conversation would lead anywhere. He reached up and grabbed the book before passing it down.

“My dad and brother are part of the crew headed there next week,” the girl replied. “I thought I should read up on it before they leave.”

“Really? I actually know the pilot for that crew.”

“Shiro?” the girl said, lighting up. “Oh man, Shiro’s awesome. I mean I’ve never actually met him, but my brother talks about him all the time. Are you guys pretty close?”

“Yeah, I guess you could say that.” He felt a little bit of the ache from before return. “I’m kind of worried about him going, to be honest.”

“I’m worried too,” the girl admitted. “I mean, they’re gonna be the first humans that have ever been that far away from Earth. It’s crazy.”

She sighed and chewed at her lip for a moment before looking back up at him.

“Hey, so I’m sure you get asked this all the time but...what’s up with your aura?”

Somehow he didn’t feel annoyed like he had when Lance asked him. Probably because she seemed more curious than anything.

“I was born without one. I can’t see auras either.”

“Sorry, I know that’s probably kinda personal. I’ve just never met anyone without an aura before. It’s sorta cool.”

Keith gave her a wry smile.

“Most people think it’s weird.”

“Well, yeah, but good weird,” said the girl. “I think I’d like not having an aura, personally. People would probably leave me alone that way. It’s so annoying having to be friends with someone just because their aura’s blue.”

“But...isn’t it only blue if you’re going to get along with them?”

“Yeah, but just because someone might make a good friend doesn’t mean you should have to like them, you know? I don’t know, I just feel like society seriously needs to reevaluate its views on the psychosocial dynamics involved with auras.”

“You sound like you’ve thought a lot about it,” Keith said, chuckling a little at how serious such a young girl was being.

“Eh, not really,” she said. “I’m just a very tired, very annoyed introvert. Anyways, thanks for grabbing that book. I’ve gotta get going.”

She raised her free hand and waved goodbye before hurrying off toward the checkout desk. Keith tried to snuff out the little bit of joy that the conversation had kindled in him. He probably shouldn’t get too used to socializing just because he’d happened to speak with two different people that day...two people he’d likely never see or speak to again, nonetheless.

He returned his attention to the books in front of him, hoping he would find something within their pages to make the ache inside of him go away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment if you liked the update, or have any questions or critiques. Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro returns to Earth after his capture by the Galra, but something about him has changed in his time away. Plus, the gang gets together for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Pidge's pronouns currently depend on POV (i.e., Lance and Hunk currently view her as a guy, Keith isn't sure of her gender, and she thinks of herself using female pronouns). This fic will exclusively use female pronouns for Pidge once she reveals her gender to the others a little later on.

Keith awoke with a start, gasping for air. His heart was racing and his nerves were on fire, urging him out of bed.

He was barely even aware of getting to the entrance of the shack and stumbling outside. The front door swung aside just in time for him to see a fiery meteor streak across the night sky and crash in the desert a short distance away.

_‘Shiro.’_

It was him. Somehow Keith just knew it was him.

He’d thought he’d lost his mind to grief when he’d dreamed that Shiro was still alive, but no, this couldn’t be anything else. He had to think of a way he could get to him before someone else did.

Unfortunately, the garrison seemed to have anticipated the meteor’s arrival. Keith could see the tell-tale lights of emergency vehicles racing toward the impact crater before he could even begin to think of a plan. It took less than five minutes for them to retrieve something from the crash site -- Shiro, his mind screamed -- and return the way they’d came. The vehicles only went a short distance before they stopped at a building Keith recognized as a medical facility and unloaded. He cursed under his breath and ran back into the house.

Whoever had owned the shack before him had left a stash of illegal fireworks in the front closet. Keith had never had a use for them in his time there, but now he was glad he’d been too lazy to dispose of them. Setting off a few of the larger ones near the crash site would hopefully provide him with a sufficient distraction and he could sneak into the building where they’d taken Shiro.

 _‘I’m coming, Shiro,’_ he thought as he mounted his hoverbike and headed toward the twinkling lights in the distance. It didn’t seem far, but the flatness of the desert landscape was deceptive. He just hoped he arrived before anything bad happened.

One year ago, the garrison had announced the disappearance of the Kerberos crew. One year ago he’d lost the only friend he’d ever had and never even known why. It’d been one year since he’d been dismissed from the garrison for punching an instructor who blamed the death of the crew on Shiro’s inexperience. One year since he’d felt there was any reason to go on.

The only thing that had kept him going had been the niggling feeling that Shiro was still alive. It hadn’t gone away no matter how hard he tried to abandon hope, and finally he’d stop trying to ignore it. His hunches had always been right in the past, after all.

The feeling had grown stronger and stronger over the last several months, finally peaking that night. He knew without a doubt that Shiro had returned.

 

* * *

 

Shiro was unconscious by the time he finally reached him, likely put under by the medical staff Keith had had to fight to get to him. His body was changed. He was far more muscular than Keith remembered, part of his hair was now white, and his nose bore a nasty looking scar.

_‘God, what happened to you?’_

He sucked in a breath when he looked down and realized one of Shiro’s arms was missing, replaced by a metal prosthetic.

“Just hang on, Shiro, I’m getting you out of here.”

He made quick work of Shiro’s restraints with his knife and lifted him up, but it took some effort to lug him from the bed. Shiro was a dead weight against him, and Keith honestly wasn’t sure he could carry him the entire way. Hopefully whatever sedative he’d been given would wear off soon.

Keith jumped as the door to the room suddenly slid open. Three people were standing on the other side, though they didn’t look like they were part of the garrison.

“Nope! No, no, no you don’t. I’m saving Shiro!”

A skinny boy wearing civilian clothing shoved the bed out of the way and grabbed Shiro’s other side.

“Who are you?” said Keith.

“Who am I? Uh, the name’s Lance.” He paused and looked at Keith like that name should mean something to him, then deflated when Keith didn’t respond. “We were in the same class back at the garrison?”

“Really? Are you, uh, an engineer?”

“No, I’m a pilot! We were like rivals, you know, Lance and Keith, neck and neck--”

Something clicked. This was the kid he’d loaned a pencil to during finals that one time.

“Oh wait, I remember you. You’re a cargo pilot.”

“Well not anymore!” said Lance, sounding offended. “I’m fighter class now, thanks to you washing out.”

“Well, congratulations.”

“Guys, can we please get out of here?” one of the others standing at the door whined.

“You got him?” Keith asked, glancing over at Lance. The other boy was already helping him drag Shiro toward the door, though he looked like he was having trouble. “I’ve got a hoverbike waiting outside. We can take that back to my place.”

“Glad someone has a plan,” droned the shortest member of their group.

A series of lucky breaks later, they’d made it back to the shack. Shiro still hadn’t woken up, so Keith and Lance maneuvered him onto one of the couches in the living room.

“Thanks for your help. I can take care of him from here,” Keith said once they were done. He sat at the end of the couch near Shiro’s head, prepared to stay with him until he woke up.

“Like I’m just gonna leave Shiro alone with you!” Lance scoffed. He looked longingly toward the sleeping figure on the couch.

“Do you know Shiro?”

“Well I…” Lance hesitated. “No, not personally. But he’s kinda like my hero and stuff.”

“Man crush,” said the person he’d come to know was named Pidge. He still wasn’t sure of their gender -- they seemed like a girl to Keith, but the others referred to them with male pronouns.

“Guys, seriously, are we really not going to discuss the fact Shiro’s lost his aura?” the boy named Hunk said.

“What?” said Keith.

“I guess you can’t tell. You’re aura blind, right?” said Hunk, and Keith nodded. “Yeah, he’s definitely not emitting any color anymore.”

“I thought it was just bad reception on the video feed or something, but yeah, it’s gone,” Pidge confirmed. They tapped Shiro’s metal prosthetic. “Bet it has something to do with this.”

“Let’s not mess with that until he’s awake,” Keith said. “Might be a while, so I guess you guys can take the bedroom for now. I’ll be in here with Shiro.”

PIdge and Hunk took his offer and excused themselves to the bedroom, but Lance remained in his spot on the opposite couch.

“I don’t need your help,” Keith told him, annoyed. He wanted to be alone with Shiro for a while.

“Well I’m not going anywhere, so deal,” Lance shot back, stretching out on the couch and closing his eyes. He turned out to be more exhausted than he looked, for he began snoring only a few minutes after he’d laid down.

“K-Keith?”

Shiro had turned to look at him. He seemed like he could barely keep his eyes open, and he winced in pain when he tried to lift his head.

“Hey, don’t try to get up yet,” Keith said, gently pushing him back down. Shiro lay back without a fight, letting his eyes fall shut again.

“I can’t believe I’m really back on Earth.”

“I can’t either.” Keith swallowed down a sob. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“Missed you too.”

Shiro weakly raised his arm -- his human arm -- and Keith took his hand in his own. For the first time in his life, Keith felt he understood why other humans were so consumed with finding their soulmates. He would have gone to the end of the universe to bring Shiro home again.

The meaning behind his feelings frightened him. He quickly let Shiro’s hand slip from his own and tried to quell the desire bubbling inside of him. He couldn’t be in love with Shiro, he just couldn’t. Shiro would never feel the same way about him.

“Could you get me some water?” Shiro said quietly, and Keith leapt at the opportunity to get away for a moment.

By the time he returned, he’d mostly tucked his new-found feelings in the back of his mind. He was even able to look Shiro in the eye when he finally managed to sit up.

“Who’s that?” Shiro asked him, nodding at the sleeping figure of Lance on the couch.

“Oh. Some kid who helped me get you here. Lance, I think.”

“Friend of yours?”

“No. I had no idea who he was until he reminded me we had a class together back at the garrison.”

Shiro chuckled.

“I’d hoped you’d become a little more social while I was gone. I guess not.”

Keith tried not to think about just how lonely he’d been in Shiro’s absence. Especially after he’d lost what little contact he had with people by getting dismissed from the garrison.

“I got kicked out of the garrison, by the way.”

“What? How? You’re one of the most amazing cadets I’ve ever met, Keith. Surely that didn’t change while I was gone.”

Keith felt a bit of heat rise to his face at the compliment. Now that he’d realized his feelings for Shiro, everything he said was just going to feed his infatuation.

“I may have punched a teacher.”

Shiro snorted at that.

“Well, I hope you’ve been keeping up with your studies on your own.”

“Kind of,” Keith said. “I’ve been working on some other stuff for a while now. I’ll show you in the morning.” 

 

* * *

 

“Hunk, I’m like, 99 percent sure that metal arm is the reason Shiro’s aura is gone.”

Pidge closed her laptop and looked over at her bedmate. Hunk had curled himself into a ball and rolled over as soon as they’d laid down, but there was no way he’d fallen asleep with the blinding light of her screen and sound of her frantic typing.

“Hunk. Hunk, turn over for a sec.”

She poked him in the side when he didn’t respond, and he gave a startled snort before turning over to face her.

“Huh...come on man, I was sleeping.”

“Seriously?”

“I’m trying to avoid reality over here, ok? We just broke like, every rule ever, and I’m really not looking forward to the consequences. Ugh, we’re so gonna get expelled.”

“Yeah, yeah.” It was hard for her to be worried about expulsion, given the fact she was illegally registered at the garrison under a false name. “But this is major, Hunk. Aliens have found a way to erase human auras using their technology. Doesn’t that get you the least bit excited?”

“Ok...kinda,” Hunk admitted. “None of our scientists have even come close to doing something like that before. It’s pretty amazing these guys were able to do it with someone outside of their species.”

“I know right? You got any theories as to how they did it?”

Hunk rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“I mean, the brain’s responsible for aura stuff, right? If the aliens found a way to to wire the prosthetic directly to his nervous system, that’d probably screw with whatever controls his aura. I don’t know much about bioengineering stuff though, dude, like no idea how any of that would actually work.”

“I bet if we scanned him we’d be able to see what parts they’ve altered.”

“Yeah, pff, too bad we don’t just carry around an MRI scanner.”

Pidge leaned over the edge of the bed, rummaging in her backpack for a moment, before sitting back up and tossing a small machine to Hunk.

“Probably not gonna give us the same quality as an MRI, but that should give us a rudimentary scan of his brain and the arm.”

“What is this, dude?” Hunk asked, turning the machine over in his hand. He ‘eeped’ when it suddenly flashed on.

“Bioreader. I snagged it back at that medical facility while Lance was busy mouthing off.”

“Oh god, we’ve got stolen property on us too?” Hunk groaned.

“Oh shush. Now gimme that.” She plucked the machine out of his hands and made her way toward the bedroom door. “You coming?”

“I guess,” Hunk muttered dejectedly, following her into the living room.

The room was already alight in the dim glow of morning, meaning they had no trouble seeing their subject. Shiro was still sound asleep on the couch, except now Keith was snuggled on top of him, his head resting against Shiro’s chest. Shiro’s metal arm was thrown over Keith’s waist, which would make it much easier for Pidge to get a scan. However, the moment she neared them Hunk made a sound of disapproval from behind her.

“What?” she whispered, turning to narrow her eyes at him.

“Come on, don’t wake them up,” Hunk whispered back. He looked at the two curled on the couch and smiled fondly. “This is adorable. I gotta get a picture.”

Pidge rolled her eyes, but let Hunk retrieve his phone from the bedroom and snap a few pictures of them before doing her scan. The light from the scanner roused Keith from sleep, whose movement woke Shiro before she could finish the scan of his head.

“What the hell are you doing?” Keith muttered, scrubbing at his eyes. He tried to snatch the scanner out of her hand, but Pidge was quick to dodge.

“Research,” she replied.

“Ugh, I told you to wait until he was awake. Which...he is now, I guess. Sorry, Shiro.”

Keith seemed to hesitate before he uncurled himself from Shiro and sat up. He muttered something about making coffee before getting up and disappearing into the kitchen. Shiro yawned and sat up a moment later, gazing drowsily at his new companions.

“Sorry man,” Hunk said, giving Shiro an apologetic look.

“It’s fine,” Shiro said. “I’m sorry, though...have we met before?”

“I’m Pidge,” Pidge said. “Nervous guy’s Hunk. And sleeping beauty over there is Lance.”

They all looked to the opposite couch where Lance was lying facedown against the cushions, a little trickle of drool seeping from the corner of his mouth.

“Let’s give him a little more time,” Hunk said. “He’s always cranky when he first wakes up.”

“Did you need me to do something for you all?” Shiro asked. “You were trying to get a scan or something?”

“Oh, yeah. Let me get a scan of your head real quick,” said Pidge.

Shiro allowed the scan without comment, though the curious look in his eye told Pidge she should probably explain.

“We think your arm might be connected to the disappearance of your aura,” she said. “We wanted to get some readings to see if we could figure out how your body’s been affected by the prosthetic.”

“Maybe you guys should lay off him, he just woke up,” said Keith, returned from the kitchen with a couple of coffee cups. He offered one to Shiro, who took the cup with his metal hand.

“It’s all right,” Shiro said. “I don’t mind talking about it… but I don’t know how useful I’m going to be. I don’t seem to remember…”

He paused, massaging at his temples as if to coax his memories out of hiding.

“I...don’t seem to remember much of anything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I currently do not have a set timeline for this fic, though future chapters are in the works. I may be a little slow with updates for a while, as I'm currently attending to some IRL stuff.
> 
> Anyways, hope you've enjoyed so far! Comments are always welcome and much appreciated. :)


End file.
